Google’s Doubleclick, Facebook in Ad Partnership

Google said Friday that clients of its ad-buying service DoubleClick will now have access to Facebook ads, too.

Before the announcement, DoubleClick clients had to buy ads directly from Facebook or not at all. Under the new arrangement, ads purchased on DoubleClick could end up on Facebook Exchange, an auction service launched by Facebook last year.

The announcement raised eyebrows because the two companies are fierce competitors in the digital-advertising market.

The move, though, is more of a marriage of convenience. By giving Google access to its advertising inventory, Facebook is hoping to sell a higher volume of product. In return, Google is hoping to collect a small fee for each customer it sends to Facebook.

“Partnership has been key to Google’s success as a rising tide lifts all boats,” Payam Shodjai, senior product manager for Google, wrote in a blog post Friday. A Facebook spokesman said in an email that the company is “happy” about the agreement.

In online auctions, advertisers buy thousands of ads at a time that target certain individuals. When those individuals visit a website, the visit is auctioned to the highest bidder using a complex set of algorithms.

Auction services like DoubleClick rely on a massive amount of inventory to sell to customers. With the addition of Facebook Exchange, DoubleClick will significantly expand its inventory.